


The Merits of a Real Thing

by OhNoMyBreadsticks



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Android Dehumanization (Detroit: Become Human), Black Chassis Upgraded Connor | RK900, Bounty Hunters, Canon-Typical Violence, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fugitives, Gavin Reed Redemption, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Jericho (Detroit: Become Human), M/M, Not Beta Read, Soft Upgraded Connor | RK900
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:14:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27228685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhNoMyBreadsticks/pseuds/OhNoMyBreadsticks
Summary: In Gavin's line of work, surprises aren't a good thing. If you get surprised, you might end up dead, or worse.When a runaway military android crashes into his life, bringing nothing but surprises, Gavin will have to adapt,fast.(Alternatively: Five times Nines surprises Gavin, and one time Gavin surprises Nines right back)
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 30
Kudos: 185
Collections: Reed900 Reverse Big Bang





	The Merits of a Real Thing

**Author's Note:**

> I'm super excited to share the work I did with [Red_Cat](https://twitter.com/redcats_art_oh) for the Reed900 Reverse Big Bang! What a treat, to get to work with such a talented artist and write some sci-fi bounty hunter content :D 
> 
> Check out Red_Cat's post [here](https://twitter.com/redcats_art_oh/status/1321117359168540672) and give it some love!
> 
> Also a very special shoutout to [Cato](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cato_universe), without whom this fic would not have been written, and to all my other lovely Discord friends who supported and cheered me on <3

1.

It was raining when Gavin ducked into the contract office, but when was it not in this shithole of a city? He pushed back the hood of his tattered cape, hearing the splash of the collected water on the concrete below. The squeak of his wet boots was drowned out by the hum of the rusty machinery and the buzz of the lighting tubes above his head as he approached the front desk. The bag he was carrying landed with a wet thunk on the slab of metal, rainwater and blue blood staining the fabric and pooling around it.    
  
Gavin cleared his throat to loosen the collected smog and said “I’m here to collect on bounty #567-490.”

The man behind the counter looked up with a bored expression and sighed as he spotted the bag. 

“You do realize bringing them in dead every time means you get less money, right?” He said, opening a drawer and pulling out his gloves and goggles. It was always the same guy in the office, but he’d never introduced himself, and Gavin had never bothered to ask. What did it matter, really, when the point was that he evaluated the bounties Gavin brought in and paid him in cash. They didn’t need to be friends for that to happen. And even though they might exchange casual banter, they were certainly nowhere close to friends. 

“You see I have all my limbs intact, right?” Gavin asked, raising an eyebrow as he waggled his fingers in the man’s direction, “The way I make sure it stays that way is by shooting bots before they can kick my ass. No sense collecting a bounty if you gotta spend it all on fuckin’ prosthetics.” 

Making no comment, the other man simply rolled his eyes, popped his goggles on, and opened the bag. The lenses would scan for the microchip and other identifying electronics on the android’s head, and verify that Gavin had indeed brought in the right body for the bounty. It was a fairly foolproof system, and it meant there was never any doubt as to whether he was going to get paid or not because of a suspected forgery. And getting paid was something Gavin was a very big fan of.

He waited patiently through the scanning process, eyes idly tracing over the new patchwork of metal behind the desk, some machine the man who worked here was always tinkering with. It was something to watch, at least, while he waited. Not that he would ever bother to ask about it. His fingers tapped silently on the worn leather of his belt where he had rested his hand, close to the handle of his blaster. This place was relatively safe, but it still wasn’t in the best part of town. It never hurt to be careful. That was Gavin’s mantra, after all.

“Alright, I’ve confirmed the successful bounty match.” The man announced sitting back and tying the bag back up before tucking it away under his side of the counter. He always kept the parts, and if there were a couple extra credits on Gavin’s bill neither of them mentioned anything. They both had done this song and dance enough times that they didn’t have to negotiate how it worked any more. Gavin dreaded the day the man behind the counter would inevitably get offed or skip town, and then he’d have to find a whole new silent arrangement with whoever took over the bounty office. 

“Now, do you want the shit dregs, or do you want the choice cut?” The man asked, pulling out the stack of paper thin tablets with bounty information on them, “I have a feeling you aren’t going to like the best one.” 

Gavin raised an eyebrow at that, holding out his hand to be given the most expensive bounty from the stack. As his eyes quickly scanned down the information listed, he realized why the man had assumed he wouldn’t want this one. Military grade bot. Extremely dangerous. Dead or alive, but with a hefty bonus for alive and mostly unharmed. Which ran absolutely contrary to what Gavin had  _ just _ said about shooting first to avoid getting his ass kicked. The only reason he didn’t immediately throw it back onto the pile was the number at the top of the screen. It was a good number.

A really  _ really _ surprisingly good number.

Shit. He needed the money this month, and the bounty had been placed by one of the city’s megacorporations, the ones that made all the newfangled bioweapons and guns that could blow through walls. They were probably the only people who could be trusted to actually deliver this kind of promised sum. Not to mention the satisfaction of getting a payout of that size from someone who didn’t need the money. Kind of a small picking of a rich pocket. Gavin chewed at his lip and let his thumb swipe up and down the screen as he considered.

“I’ll take it.” He announced, and rolled his eyes at the surprised look on the man’s face, “And I’ll take it free of commentary.” 

Raising his hands in mock defeat, the man took the tablet back, swiped it through the machine reader, and handed it back. It was registered to Gavin’s unique tag now, and he had...okay wow, he had forty-eight hours to return it or it would expire and be available for others to claim. A short turnaround, for sure. They must be really desperate to get this bot back. It didn’t matter to Gavin, it wasn’t like he had a lot of free time he needed to be spending. Although when he finished up this contract he might have the funds to actually experience free time for himself. That much money could buy a man a lot of idleness. 

Nodding in acknowledgement, Gavin tucked the tablet away and turned on his heel to head for the door. There wasn’t anything left to say. He’d either see the man again when he came to turn this bounty in, or he wouldn’t. The world would continue to turn regardless. Gavin pulled up his hood and stepped out into the drizzling rain of the city. He had preparations to make if he was going to make this money.

2.

The pounding of footsteps echoed through an alley, the sounds of the city streets muted by the thick concrete on either side. A metallic clang rang out as the figure ahead of Gavin bounced off a trash can and kept running. They were both running full tilt, and Gavin cursed as he raised his gun to fire and found himself unable to get a clear shot. He fired anyways, the bullet lodging in a neon sign and releasing a shower of sparks and shattered glass. Fuck, this thing was fast.

Gavin supposed he should have expected that, given the fact that it was practically a military weapon on legs. When he had gone back to his apartment to prepare, he’d re-read the briefing on the little datapad again, and almost backed out. The amount of firepower this bot had was pretty fucking scary, and given the way everything was worded so carefully, Gavin had a feeling that not even the person that had written this knew exactly what it was capable of. 

Gavin skidded around a corner out of the alley and cursed again, louder this time. The bot was gone. It had vanished into thin air apparently, not even a disturbance in the puddles on the ground to show it if it was invisible. How did you lose a fucking six foot tall android covered in black synthetic armor? His eyes scanned every shadow and every passing transport, trying to see where the thing had slipped away to. If he lost it now, he was going to be out the cash for ammo, out of breath, and none the richer. Probably also with a few bruises from randomly running into things during the chase. Not exactly his idea of a good time.

A sudden rattle had Gavin’s head snapping in a new direction, and he suddenly realized that the android was clambering up the side of a building. Clambering, more like  _ scuttling _ up, and almost to the top. If it got up there it was home free - this city was like a jungle canopy the higher you got, dense and just as easily navigated as the alleys and crowded streets below. Pulling out his gun, Gavin took as good of an aim as he could and fired. It wasn’t the best gun and it wasn’t the best shot, but it hit the intended target. The android let out a strangled cry as blue blood spattered out from its leg onto the wall of the building.

Well, almost the intended target, since it didn’t slow down at all.

Much to Gavin’s chagrin, the damn thing  _ kept climbing _ . He supposed that if he was being pursued by some madman with a gun he’d do anything to get away, but this thing wasn’t a human being. It wasn’t alive, like Gavin, and it didn’t have the same feelings as he did. Which, at this moment, were mostly annoyance and anger at having to keep chasing this bot. A quick scan of the building found a rusted fire escape on the side that would get him to the roof, and he took off again, boots pounding against the metal and making it groan in agony. At least, that’s what was probably making that noise, but Gavin wasn’t going to slow down enough to find out. He certainly wasn’t going to let a damn fire escape collapsing under his weight be the thing that finally punched his ticket out of this bitch of a world.

Making it to the top, Gavin was just in time to see the android hobbling away across the rooftop. There were no tight walls or sharp corners to give it cover here, just waist high air vents and piled garbage. It was out in the open air and right in his line of fire. His shot rang out, but somehow the damn thing dodged, jerking to the side and flailing its arms to avoid the bullet that should have hit it dead in the back. The sudden movement was too much for its busted leg though, and it toppled over onto the ground. It hit the ground with a thud and then began to crawl away, desperate and dogged in its attempted escape. 

Gavin had wondered once, why bots fought so hard not to be captured or shot down by bounty hunters if they weren’t really alive. The answer given by the manufacturers was that their programming insisted on trying to preserve functionality for as long as possible, thus leading to a fairly convincing ‘will to live’. That sounded like a bunch of mumbo jumbo garbage to Gavin though, so he tried not to dwell on it. So far, this one hadn’t tried to attack him, and he wasn’t going to give it the chance to change its mind from flight to fight. 

A few sure strides caught up with the thing as it crawled, the soles of his boots tracking sticky blue blood across the hard concrete of the rooftop. They were nearing the edge of the roof anyways, it had nowhere left to run. Gavin cocked his gun and aimed it at the back of the neck - a shot that would bring down anything, man or machine, yet still leave the head intact for additional cash hopefully. But before he could shoot, the android turned around, one hand raised and the other planted behind it to try and stay propped up.

Gavin’s finger twitched on the trigger, but no shot rang out. The face looking up at him wasn’t that of a killing machine, or a rage filled monster. It had wide blue eyes, a mouth parted as if to utter some pleading words, and a smattering of freckles on the pale skin of its face that were, quite frankly, the most unnecessary thing he had ever seen on what was essentially a glorified gatling gun on legs. The raised hand, far from being raised to strike an offensive blow, was shaking as the android tried to shield itself from Gavin’s inevitable shot. Like it could stop a bullet with a raised hand. Like it didn’t want to be hurt any more.

There were tears, Gavin realized with sudden, horrific clarity, tears running down its cheeks. 

The shot never rang out. Instead, in what was probably the worst move of his career, Gavin stepped forward and bashed the bot on the side of the head with the butt of his gun, sending it toppling to the ground in a state of temporary shutdown. Its eyes fluttered shut in a way that sent a shiver up his spine at the sheer  _ familiarity  _ of the movement. He shouldn’t see anything recognizable in the shape of a bot. Yet when he gathered it up in his arms to carry it back to his apartment, Gavin couldn’t ignore the warmth of another body against his chest.

3.

Some days, Gavin wasn’t sure what he was doing with his life. Just, you know, was he even doing anything to justify getting out of bed in the morning? And surprisingly, those days weren’t when he woke up and went to the bounty office to get more work as a contract kidnapper. No, it was days like this, where he found himself slumming it along a back road out of the city with a fugitive android by his side. 

It turned out that by the time Gavin got the bot back to his apartment, he was already fighting a losing battle. The damn thing just looked so  _ human _ , and so vulnerable on top of everything else, that it was hard to think of it as a target. That was a shit reason for turning in other bots that looked like bots as a bag of parts, he knew, but he was a simple man. He didn’t think too hard about the morality of machines that weren’t even alive being ‘killed’, because he had to think really hard every damn day about the reality of staying alive and paying rent in this shithole of a city.

But with the android sitting slumped in his apartment in a steadily expanding pool of blue blood, Gavin had to admit that he didn’t want it to shut down. Not if he could get better money out of it being brought in working, he tried one last time to lie to himself as he brought out his tools and set about patching up the damage he’d done to the android’s leg. He was no master technician, but he was handy enough with a heat gun and a pair of pliers to stop the steady drip of blue blood out of the hole his bullet had torn. 

Satisfied that the damn thing wouldn’t just bleed out and shut down, Gavin set the tools aside and brought out his laptop, attaching what was essentially a glorified usb cable into the android’s neck so he could run diagnostics and see exactly what he was working with. The whole time, he couldn’t stop glancing back over at it, noticing insignificant human details like the way it was subtly breathing, or tiny little abrasions on the black armor of its palm where it had clambered up the side of the building during their chase. Well, he assumed that was the cause, but he really had no idea what it had been doing before he caught up with it.

It was just so...disconcerting to look at what was essentially a weapon and see a human face essentially stuck onto a black armored body. It didn’t look anything like what Gavin had expected, and that was making his gut twist as he forced himself to focus on the screen instead. The program he was using to run diagnostics wasn’t perfect by any means, but it was accurate enough to give him the specs for whatever abilities this android had, as well as information about its basic programming and tendencies. The text coming up on screen was  _ not _ helping with that sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.

This android could have nuked him off that rooftop with a wave of its hand. Easily.

But it hadn’t. Instead it had started crying, and done everything in its power to run away from him. It hadn’t even tried to kick or punch at him, or throw any obstacles in his way as they dashed through the back alleys. It seemed to be entirely peaceful, when it was one of the most efficiently engineered killing machines in this city. In any city, if the amount of the bounty was to be believed as an indicator of ability. Gavin had to get out of his chair and stand out in the street for a few minutes to gather his thoughts and make sure that if he vomited he’d do it outside. There was no way he could turn it in now, back to someplace it had been willing to die to escape. Not if he wanted to be able to sleep at all at night, which was already a tenuous prospect. 

Which was how Gavin found himself questioning everything he’d ever done before in his life, hurrying a limping android out of the shadow of the city and into the semi-abandoned wasteland beyond. They were headed out to an isolated set of coordinates to meet some scouts from an android liberation movement, because if Gavin knew anything about this city, it was that releasing this bot back out into the wild alone was just as good as shooting it in the head. The bounty expired after forty-eight hours, and that meant the next person in the office would pick it up and walk down the same path Gavin had. And clearly it wasn’t smart enough to defend itself so…

“Nines! Don’t stray off the path” Gavin hissed, reaching out and grabbing the wayward android by the backpack to tug him back onto the road. It seemed like it was also too stupid to realize that walking off into uncharted territory was a bad idea. The name was Gavin’s doing too, because a model number like RK900-135 was just too much of a mouthful for a man to be expected to remember and use on a daily basis. A number was much better, and more suited than a human name to something that only looked human. 

Gavin was going to be talking to ‘Nines’ for a while, it seemed, since the coordinates Jericho had provided were at least two weeks’ journey on foot. They couldn’t afford to rent a bike or other transport, so walking it was. Not that Gavin minded, he was used to hoofing it across the city. And Nines, despite its bad leg, was making pretty good time. More than that, it seemed weirdly happy about it. So happy that it was making little detours when it shouldn’t.

“I apologize, Gavin” It said, doing a pretty good impression of an apologetic glance even as it fidgeted and refused to stop wandering back towards the edge of the path.

“What’s so important that you’ve gotta keep wandering off, anyways?” Gavin grumbled, not one to mince words. The sooner they fixed whatever problem this was, the sooner they could move on.

Nines, instead of answering, scampered off the path and gestured for Gavin to follow, unexpectedly dropping into a crouch. It pointed excitedly at a little scraggly plant with ragged leaves and a yellow ball of a flower. 

“Look. These plants are crucial food for pollinators, even now.” Nines explained, in a voice that was both gentle and laced with overwhelming excitement, “I wanted to come and observe, in the hopes that I would see a pollinator at work.” 

Gavin snorted, but it was mostly to hide his shock at what a strangely simple reason there had been for Nines’ behavior. Not to mention the fact that it hadn’t just ripped the flower up to look at it. That’s what Gavin would have done. But they weren’t really alike, were they?

“Maybe you’ll see one as we keep walking. But only if you stay on the path with me.”

4.

At night, out on the road, they would make camp together. Like, a proper camp with a fire and little bedrolls and everything. It was so quaint, like something out of a history book, that Gavin wasn’t sure sometimes what to make of it. It wasn’t like they were on vacation together, he and this android. But it was hard not to feel relaxed when the din of the city faded in the distance and he wasn’t constantly looking over his shoulder. Even though he’d be the first person to argue that he hadn’t ever really stopped looking over his shoulder since he’d been old enough to walk. 

Something Gavin hadn’t expected, more than the quiet, was how dark it was out in the wilds. He had lived his whole life in the city, where the sky was more a vague threat that rain and other shitty weather came from, rather than a real indicator of the time. It got dark, sure, but as soon as night fell the city was illuminated with countless bulbs and neon tubes. The metaphor of ‘a city that never slept’ was pretty overplayed, but Gavin’s apartment had come pre-installed with a set of blackout curtains, so he wasn’t going to say there wasn’t a grain of truth to it.

Once they had gotten about half a week’s walk outside the city, Gavin had suddenly noticed that nighttime was actually honest to god  _ dark _ . Like, as in, the light from their little campfire was pretty much the only thing illuminating both of their faces, and when it burned down low Gavin could look up and see nothing but stars. There were just...so many of the damn things. More than he could ever have imagined, honestly. More than were probably necessary, given the fact that they weren’t good for much. Just sitting up there and looking pretty, not really doing anything.

Nines also seemed fairly taken with the stars, as Gavin looked over at him and saw those wide blue eyes tipped up towards the blackness. At some point along the way it had gotten real hard to keep up the mantra of ‘it’ up in his head when Nines acted so much like a person. It started to feel like he was bullying the poor guy in his head, when all he was actually doing was using accurate terminology for an android that lacked human constructs like gender. So far, Nines had seemed pretty pleased to be called ‘he’ so Gavin had kept it up. No sense in aggravating the literal murder machine, even though that seemed to be an impossible task given how relaxed and pleasant Nines was at all times.

“Like the stars, do you?” Gavin asked, breaking the silence of the night. He wasn’t sure why he had asked, because the answer was obvious.

“Oh I love them” Nines replied, voice breathy with wonder even though this wasn’t even the first night he’d been looking up at them. 

Gavin shook his head and replied “Didn’t peg you as a stargazer.” He hadn’t pegged Nines as anything but a non-sentient piece of metal, but he wasn’t going to admit that. Not now, not out loud. “What’s so special about them?” He asked, because it was obvious the android was going to just keep staring silently up at space otherwise.

“They’re beautiful.” Came the immediate answer from Nines, who finally lowered his gaze to look over at Gavin, “And I’ve never seen them except in pictures. The real thing is so much better.” 

Gavin mulled this over, his own eyes drifting down to where the last few logs were crackling into embers. The real thing was so much better, huh. Was it? Gavin supposed he had lived in the city for far too long to know the answer to that question, but Nines seemed pretty sure. Then again, he had lived in the city for like, a week tops, so he didn’t have much more of a grasp on things either.

“That why you get so excited about flowers and rocks and stuff too?” Gavin finally asked, and Nines nodded, smiling at him. There was still enough glow from the fire that he could see just how content that smile was. Gavin looked up at the stars again instead of letting his eyes linger there.

Nines’ voice was fond, almost wistful as he explained “Yes, Gavin. There are so many things I have only seen in pictures and video, and I feel so grateful to be able to see them now with my own two eyes. Life outside of the laboratory is indeed wonderful.” 

Gavin was glad he wasn’t looking at Nines, because he didn’t really want to think about what he was saying. He knew the android had been developed in a lab as an advanced weaponry project, but nothing much more. Nines was hesitant to share, and Gavin wasn’t exactly eager to know more. He didn’t need to know more, he was just going to drop Nines off with the other androids and get back to his own life. He didn’t need to look and see if there was pain and sadness painted across that expressive face.

Silence stretched between them, as it often did. The soft sigh of the wind and the occasional pop of dying flame punctuated an otherwise quiet moment. Gavin let the silence stay, until he broke it again. 

“What are you most excited to see?”

“The ocean” Came the soft reply, and this time even though he was steadfastly staring up at the twinkling light of the stars, Gavin knew that Nines was smiling again.

5.

Despite it feeling gruelingly long at times, the end of their journey snuck up on Gavin somehow. They were so far from the city now that you couldn’t even see it in the distance, adding to the feeling that they were lost out in the wilderness somehow. No one lived outside the cities, or if they did they were doing a damn good job of hiding it. Unsurprising, given the fact that it was illegal. They passed rubble and wreckage on the path occasionally, but it was clear that nature was reclaiming it for her own. The lack of structure and identifiable landmarks was what Gavin was going to blame for not realizing they were approaching their destination until his tablet chimed with an alert.

Pulling it out, he cursed under his breath as he read the message from his contact at Jericho. It wasn’t necessarily bad, just a greeting and instructions on where exactly they were supposed to meet. Gavin wasn’t even sure why it annoyed him so much. It was probably because he didn’t like surprises, and this wasn’t something he’d prepared for at all.

Except for the fact that he’d been walking for like two weeks in this direction specifically to meet with these people. You know, technically doing nothing  _ but _ preparing to meet them. Whatever, Gavin wasn’t going to let his rational brain pick apart his feelings right now. He had bigger problems to deal with, like meeting a shadowy organization dedicated to android liberation. His hand drifted down to his hip, patting at the blaster tucked away in his concealed holster. It never hurt to be careful, no matter who they were supposedly meeting.

“You ready for this?” Gavin asked Nines, glancing over at his companion and finding him looking up at the clouds as they walked. The android didn’t need to worry about simple human things like tripping over his own feet, or catching his toe on a rock and falling on his face, apparently. 

“I suppose. I do not want to return to the city, and you’ve explained that living in the wilds would be unwise.” Nines replied, still not taking his eyes off the sky, “Therefore Jericho seems to be my only option.” He was silent for a few moments, before adding quietly “I do hope they live somewhere close to the sea.”

Gavin very much doubted that was a secretive organization hiding from the authorities had a pleasant house by the sea. He looked away from Nines as he pondered the fact that the android was probably going to be right back where he started - living in a dark place without very much freedom at all. Ignoring the way that thought made his stomach twist, Gavin reminded himself that this was very much not his business. As soon as they met up with these contacts, he would be heading back to the city, alone.

Back to work, but this time with one good deed in his back pocket to ward off the truly horrific nightmares.

They arrived at the meetup spot and Gavin shifted nervously where he stood, fingers dancing over the handle of his blaster, eyes flicking from side to side to try and spot any would-be assailants. Of course when they finally appeared it was as if they melted into view from thin air. Damn bots and their cloaking devices. Just three of them, and only one of them visibly armed, although that didn’t mean anything. Just because they looked like humans didn’t mean they acted like them. 

“Greetings” The blond android stepped forward, hands up in a sort of peace offering, “It’s good to see it’s just the two of you. There was some talk among the ranks as to whether this was a trap or not.” 

Gavin snorted and rolled his eyes, but Nines responded with his usual blunt honesty “Of course not. It’s just myself and Gavin, no trap.”

The other android smiled at that, and stepped a bit closer, extending one hand slowly towards Nines in greeting. It looked like a handshake, but it wasn’t, Gavin knew enough about androids to know that much. It was that weird little mind meld thing they did to transfer data, which meant he wasn’t even going to be clued in on any of the details of this little exchange. Fair enough, it wasn’t like he needed to know anything, since he wasn’t going to be involved moving forward. Silence stretched between the five of them, as Gavin gave the other two androids a cautious once-over.

It was the second unarmed android who spoke, chiming in with a soft “Since Simon’s making introductions to our guest, I suppose that leaves me to make introductions with you. I’m Josh, this is North, and that’s Simon. He’s our expedition leader.”

Gavin nodded politely, even though North looked like she wanted to rip his throat out with her teeth. Well with a dumb name like ‘North’ he wasn’t surprised. He’d be mad too if that was the best name he could come up with to name himself. 

“Gavin. I’m just the escort.” He returned the courtesy with a shrug, but was surprised at the knowing smile that spread across Josh’s face. 

“Oh yes, just the escort. We thank you for getting in touch, finding refuge for such a hunted android isn’t a simple task.” 

Gavin’s stomach twisted again, and he shrugged a second time. It really wasn’t something he wanted praise for. Luckily, this awful piece of smalltalk was interrupted by Simon and Nines finishing their conversation and stepping away from one another.

“Good, that’s settled then. The four of us will return to Jericho.” Simon announced, looking over at Gavin, “We will transfer some reimbursement to your account, as thanks for doing the right thing.” 

“Sure, yeah. I guess I’ll be heading back on the road then.” Gavin muttered gruffly, giving the androids a cursory wave as he turned, eager to escape this whole situation, “Safe travels Nines.” 

He didn’t say ‘I hope you see the ocean someday’. But he thought about it.

He was so lost in thought that the sudden flurry of movement caught him off guard, and he couldn’t do much more than look up into Nines’ eyes in surprise as the android suddenly loomed over him. Maybe this was where it all ended, where he realized he had been tricked into caring about a machine that was designed to kill him. Gavin’s eyes widened even further as Nines leaned in and kissed him, his lips soft and hesitant as they brushed against Gavin’s. 

Gavin’s mind went completely blank, and stayed blank as Nines stepped back, shooting him a soft, almost shy smile.

“Thank you, Gavin. I hope we can meet again someday.” He said, and before Gavin could do much more than open and close his mouth dumbly, he was gone, the androids trudging away together into the distance.

+1

Nines felt a jumble of mixed emotions as he turned away from Gavin and began to walk with his new compatriots. Emotions were strange enough to begin with - the first time he had experienced one it had nearly taken him out - but with Gavin there were new and strange ones that made him feel... _ good _ . Happy. Like the world was full of good things, that he was allowed to explore. 

At first he had been a bit scared of Gavin, who grumbled a lot and told him not to do things and didn’t smile very often. But as they travelled, Nines had realized that whenever Gavin told him not to do things, it was because he was worried something bad would happen. And Gavin thought bad things would happen a lot. Far more than Nines thought logical or reasonable, although he had to admit that bad things had happened a lot in the city in the brief period of time he had been there. So perhaps Gavin was just looking out for him, in his own strange way.

And then there were the kind things, like how Gavin made sure they took paths that would lead them by lots of flowers. Or how he pointed out the stars one night, telling him stories of what people used to call the shapes they saw. One of Nines’ favorite things to do was learn, and Gavin seemed more than happy to help him with that. He never made fun, even when he was obviously confused or a little lost. He always just...quietly did something to help.

What Nines appreciated the most about Gavin as they travelled though was that he smiled more. The further they got from the city, the more he smiled, and  _ oh _ Nines was terribly fond of that smile. He wanted to see it as much as he could, as greedy as that thought was. Smiling made Gavin’s eyes light up and his cheeks crinkle, and Nines had almost reached out and tried to touch the little dimples on more than one occasion. Only the knowledge that this would no doubt be perceived as additionally weird held him back.

But now he had done so much more. He had  _ kissed _ Gavin. And it had been wonderful, everything he had imagined. 

Well...not quite everything he had imagined. He had always hoped that Gavin might kiss him back, so that he could experience the sensation more than once. But once would have to be enough. Nines could store the memory away and think of it fondly, like all the other videos in his mind. But the real thing had been quite wonderful. 

Nines was jolted from his thoughts by an unexpected call of his name, and suddenly Gavin was right there, and he was grabbing his hand, and pulling him down, and  _ kissing him again _ , and oh but it was just as lovely the second time as he had hoped. So much more beautiful, to feel Gavin’s breath against his lips, and the brush of his stubble against his synthetic skin. When they parted, it was Nines’ turn to look at his partner with wide eyes and no words, completely taken by surprise.

“Let me come with you” Gavin blurted out, looking up earnestly at Nines and completely ignoring the other androids, “Please.” 

It was the first time he had heard Gavin say the word ‘please’, and the sincerity of his words made Nines’ processors run warm. Without even thinking about it, he began to smile, even as he asked “Why? Don’t you want to return to the city? To your life?”

Gavin’s reply was simple, “Because I still need to take you to see the ocean.” 

Nines found that it was just as simple to take Gavin’s hand in his and squeeze. He didn’t think he was going to let go any time soon. Not now that he had found something so perfectly real that was just for him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! I hope you enjoyed this little dip into sci-fi, I know I did C: 
> 
> Again, check out [Red_Cat's](https://twitter.com/redcats_art_oh) twitter and give her wonderful art some love!!
> 
> I’m available on [tumblr](https://ohnomybreadsticks.tumblr.com/) if you ever feel like chatting or reading some of my lil drabbles, I’d love to see you there <3


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